On Friday (31st Jan 2014) the PFOD Board convened during the second half of the regular Friday Night Dhamma practice, and resolved, in full consensus, to make a formal offer on the building. You can find the proposal and supporting documents attached. I’ve also included the text of the proposal below.

The board has been meeting every two weeks for around six months to get here. It was moving
to take this step with the companionship of 45 people of our community present. What’s more, in the 24 hours since that event two more people have pledged monthly support of $20 and $50. Also in a show of goodwill the Dharma Rain Community has (mostly) vacated the large office downstairs so Sakula can start using it as her office. Friends, it has begun, and it is good.

Right effort includes the development and nurturing of the causes and condition that support skillful qualities. It was wonderful to see a room of open faces teeming with all manner of right effort; feisty right effort, diligent right effort, tentative right effort. Unexpected right effort hanging out with undaunted and unbounded right effort. I kept expecting to hear some Nature Documentary voice over …”it’s a rare and wonderful treat to see so many right efforts gathered together in one place”

So, thank you one and all, but in particular thank you to Greg and Adrienne, our trusty lenders, whose open hearts light our way. Enjoy your weekend; the next big milestone is closing the deal which we hope to do by our upcoming Annual Meeting in May.

Proposal for Purchase – Approved in Full Consensus on 1/31/2104

On July 22, 2013 the PFOD Board (the Board) resolved to pursue the purchase of the Dharma Rain Zendo (the Building) as our new home. This proposal is the result of that resolution.

·Recognizing the support and ongoing financial contributions of over 50 community members towards owning and operating the Building;

·Recognizing also the support of the Monastic Sangha and in particular the encouragement
of Luang Por Pasanno and Ajahn Sudanto to purchase the Building;

·Having established the Building’s suitability as a Dhamma home, and goodwill of the seller;

·Having established that we have a loan suitable to purchase the Building and capital
sufficient for closing and move-in costs and to establish emergency and maintenance funds;

·Having established that we have the financial means to operate the building, as well
as develop programs and support the Spiritual Director, and

·Having developed a common understanding amongst and between Board and the Lenders on
the financial and organizational changes that would allow us to grow as a community and city refuge,
and having documented these in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

RESOLUTIONS

The Board hereby resolves:

To accept in principle the generous loan offer from the lenders and, with the support of legal counsel, to develop all necessary legal documents to execute the loan.

To accept the MOU and establish it as the Board’s primary planning document for 2014.

To develop a formal purchase offer for the Building, with the intention of completing the building purchase by our Annual Meeting in May 2014.

In addition, to help manage and protect our 501(c)3 nonprofit status, the Board further resolves:

4. To establish a typical Conflict of Interest Policy before the loan agreement is finalized.
5. To hire a bookkeeper to help with 2013 IRS filings and to support the treasurer in 2014.

AUTHORIZATIONS

To facilitate its resolutions, the Board makes the following authorizations:

Authorizes the Board Officers, acting together and accountable to the Board, to retain a lawyer and other expert counsel as needed, to negotiate agreements with the lenders and Dharma Rain, and to develop all necessary legal documents to execute the loan and complete the purchase. The authority to execute the loan and so complete the purchase remains with the full Board.

Authorizes the Spiritual Director and Program Committee, who are responsible for programs, to negotiate and manage shared use of the Building with Dharma Rain during the transition.